Configuring Integration Services in a SQL Server 2016 Cluster
In this post I will show a procedure to configure Integration Services in a SQL Server 2016 Cluster.
Monitor All the Changes
Today Steve Jones looks at the potential downfalls of monitoring every change without lots of filtering.
Why Would I Ever Need to Partition My Big ‘Raw’ Data?
Whether you are running an RDBMS, or a Big Data system, it is important to consider your data-partitioning strategy. As the volume of data grows, so it becomes increasingly important to match the way you partition your data to the way it is queried, to allow 'pruning' optimisation. When you have huge imports of data to consider, it can get complicated. Bartosz explains how to get things right; not perfect but wisely.
Implementing a custom sort
Rob Farley discusses some solutions and gotchas for implementing a custom sort using ORDER BY in T-SQL queries.
Share the Interesting Work
Today we have a guest editorial from Andy Warren that looks at how we might divvy up our workload in a company.
How to Start Big Data with Apache Spark
It is worth getting familiar with Apache Spark because it a fast and general engine for large-scale data processing and you can use you existing SQL skills to get going with analysis of the type and volume of semi-structured data that would be awkward for a relational database. With an IDE such as Databricks you can very quickly get hands-on experience with an interesting technology.
Blogs
Microsoft Fabric OneLake Shortcuts: When to Use Them and When Not To
By James Serra
An architecture scenario Imagine separate Sales, Finance, Shared Data, and Executive Analytics workspaces. Sales...
SQL Server Security Hardening Guide Using the DoD STIG Checklist
Security on your SQL Server is important. That doesn’t need any explaining. But where...
EightKB 2026: Registration is Open!
It’s that time of year again! EightKB is back on August 20th at 13:00...
Forums
Backing Up a DMK
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The Quiet Part
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BIT_COUNT in SQL Server
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Question of the Day
Backing Up a DMK
In SQL Server 2025, I have a database with a Database Masker Key (DMK). I want to back up this key and keep a copy offline. When do I have to open this key before running the backup?
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